The Forgotten Writings of Bram Stoker (Book Review)
Bram Stoker. For horror fans the name immediately conjures up images of Dracula and perhaps “The Lair of the White Worm” and “The Jewel of Seven Stars”. In The Forgotten Writings of Bram Stoker, the emphasis is on the author’s softer side; a side that is revealed to be a profound aspect of the nature of the man. He is depicted as a devoted friend; a fierce defender of those he admires; a romantic sentimentalist. All this is based primarily on his own writings and reflections, as well as documents from the period in which he lived. The big question…
Dracula (AKA Horror of Dracula) [Blu-Ray Review]
Details Director: Terence Fisher Starring: Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Michael Gough, Melissa Stribling, Carol Marsh Type: Color Year: 1958 Language: English Length: 82 min Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Resolution: 1080p Audio: TBA Subtitles: English SDH Rating: Rated BBFC: 12 Disks: 3 (BLU RAY + 2 X DVD) Region: B Label: Lionsgate Films After being widely unavailable for several years, following extensive effort and research, comes the definitive edition of Hammer’s Dracula (1958). This triple disc release contains several versions of the film, alongside numerous extras. This is the quintessential adaptation of Bram Stoker’s legendary tale for many reasons,…
Hotel Transylvania: Horror and Animation
Animated horror is an unwieldy category. Often these horror-comedies, or diet horror films directed at children, are the sorts of films I ignore. “When I have kids someday,” I think. But animation as a genre often gets short shrift just the way horror does (admittedly I’m a culprit), and investigating their similarities and intersections is worthwhile. The history of animation is intimately tied to the history of cinema. The illusion of motion produced by the rapid projection of still images (24 frames per second on celluloid, about 30 on digital media) is what makes cinema its own art form. In…
FrightFest: The Devil Rides Out
The Devil Rides Out (1968) is a classic for fans of Hammer films. Based on Dennis Wheatley’s bestseller about satanic happenings in London’s Home Counties, the film was a hit on its first release and has remained popular ever since. The Duc de Richleau (Christopher Lee) and Rex Van Ryn (Leon Greene) are concerned for their young friend Simon Aron (Patrick Mower), who has fallen in with a questionable society led by the mysterious Mocata (Charles Gray). When Richleau and Rex discover the sinister occult practices that are really going on behind the society’s innocuous front, they have to hurry…
Diabolique Magazine No. 10 (May/Jun 2012)
Diabolique Magazine celebrates the Bram Stoker Centenary! Professor Van Helsing’s kit contained a crucifix, a wooden stake and a pocket-sized guide to vampire-hunting. The most essential item in the Diabolique team’s kit — at least as we work around the clock to get each issue ready for printing — is a ready supply of strong coffee. Designer Dima Ballin, editor Robert J.E. Simpson and I have come to the end of a caffeine-fuelled (okay, I may be projecting onto my colleagues) few weeks and are proud to have submitted Issue #10 of Diabolique to the printers. In this larger-than-usual edition, we have paid tribute…
Gothic Horror Theatre: It’s Alive! (Or Is It?)
When I hear of a stage play adapted from a Gothic horror story, like London’s National Theatre sell-out production of Frankenstein, there’s a vein of jealousy running through my excitement. For I began my writing career as a playwright, and I worked hard on several scripts of famous horror tales that never made it to the theatres. Yes, for reasons unfathomable to me, my Phantom of the Opera, written when I was nine, was eclipsed by some inferior version produced around the same time by Andrew Lloyd Webber. I hear it’s still doing quite well in the West End, but…
